What I did not read on the 75 Bus

Discarded on the left-hand window seat at around 10:50am on bus to Milton.

This does not come under the blog purview, but I did flick through the pages a bit.

Things I Quite Like: Figment Daily Themes

I expected to have a few reviews up by now. I'm reading something that's currently not in the "What I Read on the 75 Bus" wheelhouse, and I've been a little bit foggy with work and general January ennui.

Rather strangely enough however, I've been writing a lot more (fictional) things that are not necessarily fit for publication or further development. Probably to escape from said January ennui, but also thanks to a little bit more inspiration from YA-orientated online writing community Figment and their Daily Themes.

I've signed up since Tuesday, and completed assignments for the themes on '20 Angry Words to describe something you love' and the 'Frame Story' where you place an anecdote about a situation into a larger narrative about another similar situation. To me, these initially sounded like informal creative writing group exercises that should warm you up before larger assignments, I've found that these gradually get more ambitious.

Take Aimee Bender's utter doozy of a Daily Theme. You have to think of ten settings and items that would fit said setting, and then choose the third and seventh settings and write appropriate stories about how the items are used in the present narrative and also as having secrets. I know what you're thinking, this homework is HARD.

Frustrating as it is, this homework is a good thing. Being frustrated about the Thursday theme meant that I could not get round to starting Friday's "dancing" theme and probably even the ones I missed last week, and this reminded me of when I was in school and university and kicking myself for not working hard enough. What's more, unlike other writing-based resolutions like trying to start writing that novel in January, the disparate stories encouraged here means that you don't get sick of the ideas you liked one time.

You don't have to be a member of Figment once you've subscribed to the themes, but I've joined so I can edit and check the word count as my assignments are in longhand.

One note, if you're like me, you'll 1) feel like the oldest person in the room and 2) resent not being able to enter the competitions due to non-US status.

Unasked Questions, Answered (part two)

Can I appear on the blog?

As it is still early days, the blog will usually be focused on what I've read so far. But with a new year, I would only be happy to take on reviews, interviews and blog posts.

Reviews

Most of the books reviewed here will have been bought or borrowed in a personal capacity. If you want your teen and young adult fiction book(s) to be reviewed, please get in touch via bridget[dot]orr[at]gmail[dot]com. All reviews will be honest and be published within a reasonable deadline.

Interviews

I am only too happy to interview authors. If you wish to appear on the blog, send me a short summary of your work to the same email address.

Guest Posts

Wanting to stop off on blog tour? Have a post that would fit in rather nicely? Send me a short summary of your blog post to the same email address and I'll get in touch.

All requests will be dealt with personally. As this is a Glasgow-based blog, I am especially happy to promote Scottish authors and any relevant events that blog readers may like.

Unasked Questions, Answered

Who are you?

My name is Bridget, and I'm an administrative assistant who lives and works in Glasgow. As I live in the South Side of the city, I take the 75 every day to and from work on peak hours, and this is where I do most of my reading.

What do you read on the Number 75?

Normally, I would describe how I've been claiming to read current literary darlings (completely unrelated point: I have an English Literature degree), but I am mainly reading teenage and young adult fiction. Seriously.

Teenage Fiction? Does this mean you're one of those "permanent adolescence" types?

At the risk of proving those YA Ignoramuses right, I could say that I am a little.

After encouragement (or chastisement?) from English teachers, I have read grown-up literary fiction since I was 14. As my reading choices became more ambitious (and studying interesting theoretical and formal aspects of texts did not help!), there was the inevitable crash down where I stopped reading for a while, with the exception of graphic novels my friends would recommend.

Young Adult fiction, you could say, has helped me break out of this rut. At first, I initially read the Hunger Games trilogy before the inevitable film publicity onslaught and to read along with Zachary Little, but over time, I've found myself spending far too much time in the Waterstones' kids floor "researching the market". This year, I've read too many dystopic romances and become confused, managed to get round to How I Live Now seven years after everyone else and wished that I created Tiny Cooper. The learning process will only get tougher next year.

So you're planning to write a book as well as updating this blog?

Hopefully. I used to write and illustrate my own stories when I was around five, and the teen fiction rediscovery has only rekindled these ambitions. I am now more aware of changing industry climates for children's publishing and the amount of hard work it takes, but I'm pretty sure that I can at least carry on with an idea for a story this time.

What's so great about the Number 75?

*thinks about it for a quarter of an hour* Well it's usually on time and frequent at that. The bus does get busy before sports matches and Take That residencies, and you can catch the bus driver on a really bad mood on the mornings you run late for work, but then again it is the bus.